It was a dark and stormy night…

Ok not really. The night was clear and cold, but living on a farm, every night was dark. On Halloween, the glow of an orange harvest moon only added murky shadows to nightfall.

With no neighbors, no sidewalks, no streetlights, treats were few and far between. My sister and I worked extra hard to fill our plastic jack-o-lanterns, making each piece of candy seem a treasure.

One Halloween, Momma drove us from farmhouse to farmhouse down Highway 77 from Smith’s Store almost to Manila. Nana went with us that year which made the outing even more fun. At 55 years old, this was Nana’s first time ever to trick or treat. Excited to play dress-up, her costume was brilliant yet simple as the best often are. An old stocking pulled tightly over her head to below her chin distorted all facial features, smashing her long humped nose and stretching her lips. With a black coat to complete the look, she became the witch from Snow White.

With our pumpkins almost full, we saved the best for last. The Cockram house was my favorite, built of native stone with a long gravel driveway that twisted through the heavily treed front yard.

There was good candy inside that house, you could just tell.

Turning the car lights off, Momma drove slowly up the drive, stopping a few yards away from the house, leaving us to walk to the front door with Nana.

Do you have candy for my starving kids? Nana pleaded in a scary voice, adding an evil cackle and holding out a shaky hand.

Although family friends, it was evident they had no idea who we were. They peeped at our car, but the night was black, and without headlights the color of the car was not obvious. The drapes around the dining room window moved aside as someone inside watched us.

Do we know you?They asked.

No, we are just a family who needs lots of caaaandyyyyy. Nana screeched, nearly scaring me.

Back in our car, we giggled quite proud that we remained nameless. In the back seat, I felt inside my plastic pumpkin trying to determine the latest additions based on the size and shape of each small candy. Unwrapping a Bit o’ Honey, I popped it into my mouth, dropping the wrapper back into the jack-o-lantern. Nana joked about how we got them good!

Momma agreed, laughing as she backed down the drive toward the highway, still without the headlights. We were stealthy, covert, the car remaining invisible. The Cockrams continued to watch from the picture window, completely stumped.

A loud crack! A jolt that hammered us (seatbelt-less) into the front seat. My pumpkin spewed candy into the floor as I nearly choked on my Bit o’ Honey.

Quite the opposite of sneaky, Momma had rammed the car into a tree, breaking the taillight, splintering the tree trunk and bringing an abrupt end to our spirited shenanigans. The Cockrams spilled out onto the drive, actually excited their tree brought our identities into the light of this Halloween night.

Finally home, we had to explain this little trick to Daddy.

Boo!